Today in History

Today in History

Today is Friday, July 8, the 190th day of 2016. There are 176 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 8, 1947, an object crashed onto a ranch in Roswell, New Mexico; a local newspaper, the Roswell Daily Record, reported that the nearby U.S. Army Air Field had recovered a "flying saucer," but officials said it was actually a weather balloon. To this day, however, there are those who believe what fell to Earth was an alien spaceship that carried extra-terrestrial beings.

On this date:

In 1663, King Charles II of England granted a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.

In 1776, Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, outside the State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia.

In 1889, The Wall Street Journal was first published.

In 1891, Warren G. Harding married Florence Kling DeWolfe in Marion, Ohio.

In 1907, Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies," on the roof of the New York Theater.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman named Gen. Douglas MacArthur commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea. (Truman ended up sacking MacArthur for insubordination nine months later.)

In 1965, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21, a Douglas DC-6B, crashed in British Columbia after the tail separated from the fuselage; all 52 people on board were killed in what authorities said was the result of an apparent bombing.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford announced he would seek a second term of office.

In 1986, Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria despite controversy over his alleged ties to Nazi war crimes. Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, widely regarded as father of the nuclear navy, died in Arlington, Virginia.

In 1994, Kim Il Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.

In 2000, Venus Williams beat Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6 (3) for her first Grand Slam title, becoming the first black female champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1957-58.

Ten years ago: Four more U.S. soldiers were charged with rape and murder and a fifth with dereliction of duty in the rape-slaying of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killings of her family in Mahmoudiya. (The soldiers received sentences ranging from five to 110 years based on their acknowledged roles in the attack.) Discovery astronauts Piers Sellers and Michael Fossum went on a 7-1/2-hour spacewalk to test a repair technique for space shuttles. Amelie Mauresmo beat Justine Henin-Hardenne, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon to win her second Grand Slam championship. Actress June Allyson died in Ojai, California, at age 88.

Five years ago: Former first lady Betty Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93. Atlantis thundered into orbit on a cargo run that would close out the three-decade U.S. space shuttle program. Ohio State vacated its wins from the 2010 football season, including its share of the Big Ten championship and a victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, as it responded to the NCAA's investigation of a memorabilia-for-cash scandal.

One year ago: On a rough day for tech, a "router issue" at United Airlines suspended all of the company's flights for nearly two hours, leading to 800 flight delays and 60 cancellations; a "technical problem" at the New York Stock Exchange halted trading; and the Wall Street Journal's website, WSJ.com, had "technical difficulties." (Government officials said it did not appear that the incidents were related, or the result of sabotage.) Medicare said it planned to pay doctors to counsel patients about end-of-life care, the same idea that sparked accusations of "death panels" and fanned a political furor around President Barack Obama's health care law.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Steve Lawrence is 81. Actor Jeffrey Tambor is 72. Ballerina Cynthia Gregory is 70. Actress Kim Darby is 69. Actress Jonelle Allen is 68. Children's performer Raffi is 68. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is 67. Actress Anjelica Huston is 65. Writer Anna Quindlen is 64. Actor Kevin Bacon is 58. Actor Robert Knepper is 57. Rock musician Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode) is 55. Country singer Toby Keith is 55. Rock musician Graham Jones (Haircut 100) is 55. Rock singer Joan Osborne is 54. Writer-producer Rob Burnett is 54. Actor Rocky Carroll is 53. Actor Corey Parker is 51. Actor Lee Tergesen is 51. Actor Billy Crudup is 48. Actor Michael Weatherly is 48. Singer Beck is 46. Country singer Drew Womack (Sons of the Desert) is 46. Comedian Sebastian Maniscalo is 43. Actress Kathleen Robertson is 43. Christian rock musician Stephen Mason (Jars of Clay) is 41. Actor Milo Ventimiglia is 39. Rock musician Tavis Werts is 39. Singer Ben Jelen is 37. Actor Lance Gross is 35. Actress Sophia Bush is 34. Rock musician Jamie Cook (Arctic Monkeys) is 31. Actor Jake McDorman is 30. Actor Jaden Smith is 18.

Thought for Today: "America is not just a power, it is a promise." -- Nelson A. Rockefeller, American politician and businessman (born this date in 1908, died 1979).